Gaza ceasefire protest vote gains traction in US on Super Tuesday

A protest vote against Joe Biden gained more traction around the country on Super Tuesday as voters in several states sought to send a message to the Democratic president to support a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

Grassroots groups organized quickly after a similar effort in Michigan last week far exceeded its goal of 10,000 votes for “uncommitted” brought in more than 100,000 votes, or 13% of the vote.

A smattering of Super Tuesday states – Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Tennessee – had an option on the Democratic ballot where voters could decide not to commit to a specific candidate. These options included “uncommitted”, “noncommitted delegate” and “no preference”.

In Minnesota, about 19% of voters chose “uncommitted”, far more than chose Dean Phillips, the congressman from that state who is challenging Biden in the primary. Massachusetts saw about 9% of votes go to a “no preference” options. In North Carolina, about 13% of voters picked “no preference”. Democratic protest votes were also recorded in Alabama (6% “uncommitted”), Iowa (4%) and Tennessee (8%).

Minnesota’s campaign was seen as the most likely to bring in more votes because the state has a large Muslim population, high voter turnout and a progressive left, all factors that could help it get more people to send a protest vote.

Organizers in Massachusetts, North Carolina and Colorado also worked to push voters toward uncommitted options after Michigan. In Massachusetts, volunteers spread the word over the past few days that voters there should choose “no preference” on their primary ballots. Colorado voters were urged by the Colorado Palestine Coalition to pick “noncommitted delegate” on their ballots, Colorado Public Radio reported.

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